WATCH: Two Huge Sun Eruptions Captured by NASA Cameras

WATCH: Two Huge Sun Eruptions Captured by NASA Cameras

IN SPACE - JUNE 5: In this handout image provided by NASA, the SDO satellite captures a ultra-high definition image of the Transit of Venus across the face of the sun at on June 5, 2012 from space. The last transit was in 2004 and the next pair of events will not happen again until the year 2117 and 2125. (Photo by SDO/NASA via Getty Images)

Photo by SDO/NASA via Getty Images

The sun erupted last week with a massive "solar prominence" so large, it may have triggered a second eruption in one four-hour period.

Spectacular video captured by NASA shows what officials call red "loops of plasma" shooting from the sun's surface. The first eruption was so large that it expanded beyond the camera view of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The event followed a major solar flare last Monday.

Advertisement

Fortunately, the eruption wasn't aimed toward Earth. In certain cases, flares and eruptions from the sun can pose a threat to orbiting satellites, communications, navigation, and power systems on the ground.